Thinking together

Creating a shared vision is one way of building the capacity of organisations or communities to adapt and thrive. This article describes how a vision for the organic sector in Tanzania was arrived at, through bringing the main stakeholders together in a workshop.

LEISA Magazine • 22.3 •
September 2006

Thinking together

Petra Bakewell-Stone

In March 2006, twenty-six key actors in the Tanzanian organic movement met
at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro. Their purpose was to further
develop organic agriculture and the workshop was convened as part of an action
research study in collaboration with the newly formed Tanzanian Organic Agriculture
Movement (TOAM). The experience of this workshop sheds light on ways to stimulate
shared action through the creation of shared meaning. The goal of this article
is to explore how to free creative potential using participatory methodologies,
and to provide ideas for designing interactive meetings that enable people to
analyse their situations, envision more desirable futures and strategise in
order to make the transition.

Organic sector in Tanzania

Certified organic agriculture emerged in Tanzania in the early 1990s. Although
many organic practices are based on traditional knowledge, organic agriculture
as a holistic farm management system is a recent concept that is not widely
understood. Although in its infancy, the certified organic sector is growing
rapidly and is being propelled by smallholder farmers and commercial interests
in capturing the expanding organic market. In 2003 the first local certification
body, the Tanzanian Organic Certification Association (TanCert) was established
in order to certify organic products for both the domestic and international
market. At present, estimates of the certified land area range from 37 000 to
over 64 000 hectares, comprising approximately 27 000 farms.

Amaranth and many other vegetables are increasingly grown organically
in Tanzania.
Photo: Author

Certified organic agriculture in Tanzania is predominantly export-oriented.
The focus is on traditional commodity crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa, cashew
nuts and cotton and non-traditional crops such as vanilla, sesame, herbs and
spices which are often processed. Fruit and vegetables are also becoming increasingly
important. There are now at least 23 certified organic projects in Tanzania,
including 16 firms for export and 7 projects for the local market. Most projects
follow an out-grower model in which smallholders are contracted by exporting
companies who pay for certification, sometimes in collaboration with donor programmes.
There are also a few individuals farming organically on a large-scale and two
cooperatives engaged in organic coffee production.

The need for coordinated action

The main stakeholder groups in certified organic projects are farmer organisations,
companies, facilitating agencies and certifying bodies. Consumers, government
extensionists, policy-makers and research institutions also play important roles
in developing the organic sector.

The Tanzanian Organic Agriculture Movement network, established as a platform
for exchange and promotion of organic agriculture, has identified the lack of
coordination amongst the different types of actors working in the emerging organic
sector, as a major weakness. Improving communication and collaboration between
those active in organic projects is important for developing an organic agriculture
that balances economic concerns with those of the environment and the livelihoods
of smallholder farmers.

Tanzanian Organic Stakeholders' Forum

The idea to hold a forum arose from this need to address the lack of coordination
amongst stakeholders, and in order to bring unity and direction to the national
organic movement. Three main objectives of the workshop were: to share and synthesise
knowledge on organic food and farming; to create a shared vision for the future
of the sector; and to formulate individual and joint action plans for achieving
this vision. The design of the workshop, inspired by the Soft Systems Methodology,
included the following stages:

Preparation
Participants were selected on the basis of belonging to diverse stakeholder
groups, representing different organisations, long-term involvement in organic
agriculture, and in order to bring an age and gender balance. Detailed planning
of the workshop involved articulating the purpose, process and desired outcomes
of each individual session. In order to make the workshop interactive the majority
of sessions were focused group discussions, in an informal arrangement based
on the World Café method.

Defining the relevant system
In order to clarify the context, specialists gave short presentations on the
history and background of organic agriculture in Tanzania, current research
activities, curricula development and international issues. These presentations
and plenary discussions helped participants to develop a common understanding
of the issues at hand.

Analysing constraints and opportunities
A successful vision uses "creative tension", the tension between vision and
reality, to lift organisations and communities out of the mundane. The aim is
to "hold" visions while remaining committed to seeing current reality clearly.
For this reason, it is important to have a sound understanding of system weaknesses
and constraints before creating positive mental images of the future.

Challenges to strengthening organic agriculture were identified through the
use of guided conversations around the question: "What challenge, if resolved,
would radically improve the state of organic agriculture in your area?" These
challenges were then grouped thematically according to TOAM's pillars of action
which include market development, standards and certification, research and
education, policy and legislation, institutional development, and production
and processing.

Visioning
Visioning involves establishing an overarching goal that is harmonious with
our core values and sense of purpose. At its simplest level, a shared vision
is the answer to the question: What do we want to create? In the Tanzanian Organic
Stakeholders' Forum the purpose of visioning was to build consensus on the future
direction of activities and to focus the strategic agenda for action planning.
The process involved first setting the scene by asking participants to sit comfortably,
preferably with eyes closed and legs uncrossed. A short story was then read
to them. This skeletal story-line can be adapted and embellished to add colour
and breathe life into the exercise. Important points to remember include speaking
slowly, including adequate pauses for participants to adequately visualise,
and posing broad and open-ended questions that do not constrain imaginative
thinking.

"It is the year 2015. An exciting organic initiative that you have been involved
with for many years has been more successful than you ever anticipated. It has
gained widespread support from the local community. Generous partners have contributed
a wealth of expertise and support. The initiative has become a model for the
development of organic agriculture in Tanzania, and there has also been mounting
interest from farmers, the government, researchers, journalists and the general
public. What has taken place? How has the system changed in your area?"

After allowing participants to visualise this situation individually and in
as much detail as possible, they were invited to create symbols such as words
or images that represented different aspects of their visions and jot these
down on paper.

Visualisation was followed by sharing in groups, with participants listening
carefully to one another's visions and incorporating aspects that resonated
with all into a shared vision that was mapped out on a flipchart.

Once participants were satisfied that key elements of their visions had been
represented, group members were asked to circulate around other flipcharts leaving
one "host" who remained at the table to explain the group vision to "visitor"
participants. Afterwards they returned to their home tables and gave feedback
that could enrich the group vision. This was summarised as a vision statement
phrased as: "To have an organic sector that …….." and written in big block letters
on A3 paper. Table hosts then presented the group visions to the plenary whilst
underlining key words.

On this basis, central elements of all the group visions were incorporated
into an overall shared vision that was further discussed and refined. In this
process, the facilitator is supposed to build a shared vision that reflects
personal visions and is rooted in individuals' values, concerns and aspirations,
thereby connecting people to an important undertaking.

Articulating strategies
Following the visioning session, the groups developed strategies and formulated
action plans around the challenges and themes previously identified. The cornerstones
of the shared vision -health, environment and income- provided the ultimate
goals of all the action plans. Participants considered the forces supporting
and hindering their efforts to realise the shared vision when choosing various
courses of action. During the coffee break participants paired up to discuss
whether the action plans being formulated were New, Appealing and Possible -
a useful little tool nicknamed NAP analysis. For example, the group which decided
to strategise on market development resolved to increase trade and income from
organic products by establishing local market centres by 2008.

The workshop concluded with a press conference which consisted of presentations
by a panel of six speakers from different stakeholder groups followed by a question-and-answer
session.

Evaluation
Simple methods can be used to evaluate a workshop such as this one. Feedback
from participants indicated that the workshop was extremely useful for stimulating
networking, although it is still early to evaluate whether the workshop will
lead to effective partnerships and joint action in the long-term.

Outcomes

Tangible outputs of the process were a shared Organic Vision 2015 (see box),
individual plans of action, joint strategies and media coverage in the form
of radio and television bulletins and articles. Participants also left with
their own individual visions, either written down or in their heads, which they
can refer to in the future as a source of inspiration and direction.

Box 1. Tanzanian Organic Vision 2015
'To have a vibrant organic sector supported by a wide range of stakeholders that is the driving force behind agriculture in the country, takes advantage of local and export markets and contributes to enhanced livelihoods through quality and safe food, environmental conservation, economic growth and sustainable development'.

As a result of broad-based participation, the shared vision represents a wide
range of stakeholders. These include: educators who advocate for improved curricula,
research facilities and learning institutions; farmers who seek better prices,
more efficient production systems and easier access to certification, and; traders
who want to make sure that domestic markets develop and export market services
are available.

Being inclusive in this way increases the sustainability of future actions
since the Organic Vision reflects multi-functionality in the food system. Proceeding
from these outcomes could involve incorporating the tangible outcomes into strategic
plans, organising regular stakeholder forums and reinforcing partnerships around
common concerns. For example, the workshop catalysed the meeting of representatives
from producer groups, organic support groups and certifiers, paving the way
for future collaboration on establishing Internal Control Systems for smallholder
group certification.

On the basis of participants' evaluation, however, the most significant outcome
that emerged from the workshop is intangible: enhanced networking and communication
amongst stakeholders.

Conclusion

Creating shared vision is one way of building the capacity of communities to
adapt, survive and thrive, into an unknowable future. As shown in this example,
visioning can bring coherence to the activities of diverse stakeholders and
create the incentive and basis for participatory planning. By holding workshops
which integrate knowledge from many different sources and which offer opportunities
for joint learning among relevant social actors, the foundations for successful
innovation, or collective social competence, are laid.